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Camp stokes a fire in Jaguars

Despite the rainy, dreary weather Sunday, there was a note of optimism in the air Sunday as new coach Mike Mularkey rang down the curtain on his first training camp.

“I think we accomplished a lot,” Malarkey said as the Jaguars prepare to go into their regular-season practice mode Monday even though they still have two preseason games left.

“The effort we had from our guys, the attention to detail, it was amazing,” Mularkey said. “These guys are diligent about note-taking and there weren’t a lot of mistakes for a new offense and the defense picked up where we left off [last year].”

“Everybody is in sync, everybody working toward one goal and that‘s getting better every day and the coach is doing a great job of maximizing the talent we have on this team,” Mincey said. “I think we’ll be real good. We all have our eyes on one goal and that’s to make it to the Super Bowl, hopefully.”

Guard Uche Nwaneri said the change in ownership and at coach has rejuvenated the team.

“Being able to move in this direction with coach Malarkey and the new owner [Shad Khan] is like having a breath of fresh air in our building,” Nwaneri said.

A look at some of the highlights and lowlights of Mularkey’s first camp:

HIGHLIGHTS

Blaine Gabbert’s new look: The second-year quarterback not only has a haircut, but showed a lot of progress in training camp and has looked much more comfortable in the pocket than he did last season. He led the team on touchdown drives on the first series of the first two preseason games and is showing signs of becoming the quarterback the Jaguars thought they drafted a year ago.

Justin Blackmon’s fast start: Even Mularkey said he was surprised at the way Blackmon has stepped right in without seemingly missing a beat after holding out for 12 days. He caught four passes in a half in his debut, shows good ball skills and an ability to break tackles after the catch. He has the potential to be their best receiver since Jimmy Smith retired.

Rashad Jennings takes over: Maurice Jones-Drew’s holdout gave Jennings, who spent last year on the injured reserve list, an opportunity and he’s made the best of it. He's shown the ability to break tackles and also get to the outside as he carried 23 times for 118 yards for a 5.1-yard average in his first two games. Jennings looks like he can be a featured back and has enabled them not to worry about Jones-Drew’s absence.

Defense rolls on: The defense is showing that last season was no fluke when it was ranked sixth in the league in yardage allowed, and it seems poised to be even better this season. Mularkey said the defense had only four mental errors against the Saints. Mincey had 1 1/2 sacks and caused a Drew Brees fumble on one of the sacks. If the Jaguars improve their sack total, the defense could have a shot at reaching the goal of being the best in the league.

■ Intangibles: The Jaguars seem to have bought into Mularkey’s system of putting a lot of emphasis on the little things, such as lining up in a straight line for the national anthem and handing the ball to the officials after scoring a touchdown. It remains to be seen if these intangibles make a difference in winning, but Mularkey has put his stamp on the team.

LOWLIGHTS

Penalties: Mularkey puts a lot of emphasis on eliminating penalties and has officials at every practice to call them. And he has a penalty chart in the locker room. But the Jaguars have been called for 18 penalties in their first two games. The replacement officials could be part of that, but it’s a number that is not acceptable in Mularkey’s eyes.

Injuries: The Jaguars haven’t had a season-ending injury yet, although two players who were on the physically unable to perform list (PUP) at the start of camp, Clint Session and John Chick, are still sidelined. But they have a lot of nagging injuries, particularly in the offensive line, as Eugene Monroe, Will Rackley, Jason Spitz and John Estes are all ailing. That has meant the Jaguars haven’t had the continuity they want on their line, although it has still played well.

Lee Evans departs: The Jaguars signed veteran wide receiver Evans, who started his career in Buffalo with Mularkey, in the hopes that he had a year left in the tank and would provide a veteran presence for the young linemen. As it turned out, he had nothing left and the Jaguars cut him after holding him out of the first preseason game. The receiving corps is still much improved, but Evans wasn’t able to help them.